WebProNews

Tag: firewalls

  • McAfee Set To Acquire Firewall Provider Stonesoft

    Intel’s antivirus software company, McAfee, is acquiring Stonesoft. The company announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to initiate a conditional tender offer to do so.

    Stonewall, if you’re unfamiliar, creates firewall products.

    The deal is worth $389 million.

    McAfee President Michael DeCesare said, “With the pending addition of Stonesoft’s products and services, McAfee is making a significant investment in next-generation firewall technology. These solutions anticipate emerging customer needs in a continually evolving threat landscape. Stonesoft is a leading innovator in this important market segment. We plan to integrate Stonesoft’s offerings with other McAfee products to realize the power of McAfee’s Security Connected strategy. Stonesoft products will benefit from the collective expertise of more than 7,200 McAfee employees. Leveraging McAfee’s cloud-based Global Threat Intelligence service will provide our combined customers with unparalleled security.”

    Stonesoft CEO Ilkka Hiidenheimo added, “The combination of the two companies allows Stonesoft to benefit from McAfee’s global presence and sales organization of over 2,200 employees, best-in-class threat research and technology synergies. Combined, we believe we can offer our customers a world-class product portfolio with world-class support – all backed by Intel.”

    The rationale for the acquisition, McAfee says, is based on network security being a vital component of a comprehensive security solution, and next-generation firewalls are one of the fastest growing segments of this. Stonesoft is considered a leader in the space, and McAfee expects to grow its network security business with a more complete offering.

  • ‘Unconstitutional’ LGBT Internet Filters Land School District in ACLU’s Crosshairs

    The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have sent a letter to the Governor Mifflin School District in Shillington, PA which threatens legal action if the district doesn’t address the claims of high school student Maison Fioravante. While performing research on Governor Mifflin High School computers, Fioravante discovered that many educational LGBT sites were being blocked by the school’s content filter.

    When she tried to access certain LGBT sites for research purposes, Fioravante was met with a filter notice that cited a “sexuality” filter as the reason for the blocking. She posted a YouTube video detailing her situation and also began a petition on change.org asking the high school to stop blocking LGBT sites. The petition has amassed over 3,300 signatures and drew the attention of the ACLU.

    In their letter, the ACLU notes that this sort of filtering is considered viewpoint discrimination that was recently ruled unconstitutional in a recent court case.

    They state that the “sexuality” filter seems to be only blocking LGBT-oriented sites.

    But it’s not just LGBT sites that the school district’s filter (running Smoothwall software) is blocking. Apparently, the firewall is preventing access to anti-gay websites from organizations like the National Organization for Marriage and the the Family Research Council. The reason given is that these sites are blocked due to “intolerance.”

    The ACLU says that this is also ill-advised, as blocking even an “intolerant” viewpoint is an independent violation of the First Amendment.

    The ACLU gives the school district until March 14th to address their concerns before they proceed with legal action.

    “The ACLU respectfully requests that Governor Mifflin School District immediately reconfigure its Smoothwall filtering system so that it operates in a viewpoint-neutral manner or the District should find an alternate software vendor with a product that satisfies the requirements of both the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”) and the First Amendment. Please contact us by Thursday, March 14, to advise us whether you will make the requested changes to the filter and if so, how you intend to do so,” says the letter.

    [h/t The Verge]

  • Dell To Acquire SonicWall, Pending Regulatory Approval

    Dell To Acquire SonicWall, Pending Regulatory Approval

    Dell is acquiring security company and firewall-builder SonicWall. Dell says the company’s next-gen and Unified Threat Management (UTM) firewalls will help it bolster its security solutions portfolio.

    “We are building a strategic software portfolio to address the needs of our customers with key assets in the fast-growing and highly profitable IT security solutions business,” says John Swainson, President of Dell’s Software Group. “Our customers see security as a key IT concern for the foreseeable future.”

    “SonicWall gives Dell access to unique intellectual property resources and technology that position us well in fast growing parts of the software security business,” he adds.

    SonicWall CEO Matt Medeiros says, “Dell’s distribution, reach and brand are well-recognized across the industry. This transaction aligns well with Dell’s mid-market design focus and allows us to accelerate growth of our flagship SuperMassive Next-Generation Firewall solutions with Large Enterprise customers. Additionally, SonicWall is recognized as a leading security solutions provider for small and medium businesses through our UTM solutions. Dell’s phenomenal breadth and reach into small and midsize companies provides a significant opportunity to expand our customer base.”

    The deal has already been approved by the boards of both companies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    Dell has placed a lot of emphasis on enterprise customers early this year, after dropping out of the US Tablet market in December. Just last week, the company introduced seven new rack and tower services.

    In February, Dell reported record fourth quarter revenues.